My name is Kiara David and I grew up in the Bronx. I currently attend SUNY Cortland with a major in Communications, minor in Women Gender Studies, and a concentration in Public Relations . I decided to come to SUNY Cortland because it was the only University to accept me through EOP. My plans in the future are to hopefully work in the public relations department of some type of business. To pay for school I used a mix of loans and grants. Many of my loans covered books and where I lived off campus.

I currently work as a student director in the Corey Union information desk for about 20 hours a week. I usually work to help pay for groceries and personal expenses . During the pandemic I would describe my college experience as a rollercoaster. I am a hands-on learner, so learning virtually has made it difficult for me . This pandemic overall has made it hard to receive income because a lot of jobs are closing down and I rely on work to help myself survive. Getting a college degree to me means uniqueness, in other words,I am one of the fortunate people to make it out of college. I am extremely worried about paying back loans after I graduate because finding a job six months after you graduate is not certain. Luckily my financial aid awards have covered most of my higher education costs but , I am only blessed to say this because of the EOP program I am in. Overall I feel as though SUNY & CUNY schools should fully be funded because I feel as though it shouldn’t be by luck that you have the opportunity to better yourself and be able to seek an education.